Nigerians must unite

SIR: Since 1999, there has been a high level of misunderstanding among the citizens of Nigeria; misunderstanding in religion, ethnicity and region. Nigeria, once a peaceful nation during the time of our founding fathers has today become a case study in ethno-religion crisis. Gone are those days when leaders promote peace and harmonious co-existence among the citizens. Today’s leaders know nothing more than protecting their personal interest and interest of their families leaving the majority to suffer in poverty. Most worrisome is the manner with which citizens are set against themselves in order to divert their attention from the evils being perpetrated by the leaders.

We must admit that Nigeria is not the only multi-religious country in the world; neither is she more religious than other nations in the world. Why should we allow the peaceful foundation laid by our heroes go down in vain? We need to trace that essence that saw our founding fathers through their years of struggle for independence. We have truly lost the essence of one nation.

Let us understand that we cannot move forward in this atmosphere of chaos and disunity. We need to know that the cord that has bound us together cannot be broken. Even if we decide to break up as some individuals have suggested, there would hardly be a clear boundary that divide us into separate nations.

Today, Nigeria is no longer what it was used to be. There is inequitable distribution of resources, the leaders are not committed to the well-being of the masses; greed and selfishness is the order of the day. Nigeria has remained an underdeveloped country despite the fact that we are blessed with rich human and material resources that would have been harnessed for the development of all.

Most of the problems we face today are by-product of disunity among us. The lack of unity has paved the way for corruption to thrive and our leaders steal our patrimony day in day out while we fold our arms watching and supporting in disunity. Everything is done in Nigeria today on the basis of religion. This has cost countless lives of innocent Muslims and Christians, while many are rendered homeless.

Until we realise the damage that lack of unity has done to our corporate existence and development, Nigeria would have a long way to go. Urgent actions should be taken to unite Nigerians to put a stop to all these problems. We must bear in mind at all times that the cord of nationhood is too strong to be broken.